Most spring-born dairy-beef calves will have been weaned off milk and are out at grass by now.

Most farmers keep anywhere from 1-2.5/kg/head/day concentrates in the calf diet at grass.

Some farmers reduce or remove the level of concentrate feed in the diet in mid-summer while others prefer to continue feeding concentrates during the first season at grass.

Some farmers also like to continue offering hay or straw to calves at grass as a source of additional roughage in their diet.

As with all things in farming, different farmers have different methods and preferences when it comes to rearing calves but, regardless of the method, achieving a good average daily liveweight gain (ADG) during the first summer at grass is essential for a profitable dairy calf-to-beef system.

Young cattle (calves) have the highest feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and this reduces as cattle get older, so maximising calf ADG is essential to produce a good carcass the following autumn/winter.

During a calf’s first summer at grass, farmers should aim to achieve an average daily gain (ADG) of 0.7-0.8kg/day, according to Teagasc.

If a calf underperforms during the first grazing season, it will be more challenging for it to hit key target weights later on.

Animal health, nutrition, and good grazing management are the three essential pillars to ensuring calves reach their target weights at housing.

Farmers can reach and surpass these target weights with varying levels of concentrate inputs.

Ensuring calves are vaccinated and parasite-free, and have access to clean pasture will all help in achieving good calf performance.

The aim should be for dairy-beef animals to have an average weight above 230kg at housing this winter. Naturally enough, this target weight will vary across breeds.

To ensure calf performance remains at required levels during their first winter, now is the time to take measures to ensure good quality silage is secured for the coming winter.